Maniac Rock
by icybluegoddessfarie
Summary: Here's the chance for Yuugi and his friends to rise to fame. They are going to be the opening act for the the most popular band Pharaoh's Ressurection. Can Yuugi prove he is worthy? Can he win the contest as well as his favorite lead singer's heart?
1. Chapter 1: The Contest

__Random Announcer: Alright everyone, here's the moment you've been waiting for…

Random Hostess: Drumroll please….

(Tristan obliges)

Author: Yes here it is… THE FREAKING DISCLAIMER!!!!

(everyone sweatdrops and falls back)

Joey: Ya said this was important!

Author: well it kinda is, considering if I don't, I'll the feds on my ass faster than Joey can say scrumdidaliumsious.

Joey: (glares)

Author: Don't be that way, you know I give tough love. Anyway, I don't own the Yugioh names but I do own the characters created from them and the songs I use I will list at the bottom, which also aren't mine.

Author: ENJOY THE SHOW!!!

**Prologue**

Yuugi stood behind the curtains, wondering how he was going to make it through the next 15 minutes. The blackness of the shadows resonating from the spotlights didn't help his own clouded mind to be still.

_Grandpa, This is for you._

He drew one last deep breath, made an effort to pause his shaking heart and hands, before leaving the harsh darkness and walking out on stage to hear a brilliant roar echo the walls of the open stadium, beneath the starry summer night.

**Chapter One: Two Months Ago**

Yuugi sat in front of the TV, hardly able to watch the band through his reddened, swollen eyes. But he somehow was able to listen, listen to every single note played and every pitch hit by the voice of the singer, whose name no one knew. On screen was the band _Pharaoh's Resurrection_, his favorite and most likely the favorite band of millions in America, and even in Europe and Japan.

The leader singer was his inspiration in life at the moment. He was head of the band and about Yuugi's age, 17, and he wrote most of the songs that the band preformed. Yuugi was apart of an aspiring band, which his friends and he had named _Diablo's Rath_. In it was Yuugi, lead singer of course, Joey, lead guitar, Tristan, an amazing drummer, Tea, who was backup singer but also the DJ who mixed the techno in the background, and the there was Seto, the band manager and electric keyboard player when needed.

Yuugi looked over to the right edge of the coffee table, giving his songbook a glance before turning back to the TV. He knew it would be a while before he could write again.

And the music played on. Murmuring the lyrics under his breath, Yuugi sang along with the song called "Forsaken".

_I'm over it_

_You see I cannot be together _

_Erase it_

_Sleeping so long _

_Taking off the mask_

_Clouded memories of the past_

_At last I see_

_My fear is fading_

_I can't speak it_

_Or else you will take my place_

_My fear is winding _

_Always binding_

_Take my hand now be alive…_

Yuugi stopped following along after he heard his friends approaching the door, and he switched off the TV. Knowing the door was unlocked, his friends from the band all burst in, all with gigantic smiles on their faces.

"Hey guys, what are you all so happy about?" Yuugi asked with a half-hearted smile.

"Yuugi you will not believe the amazing thing Seto, who happens to be the best manager in the world, did for us." Tea excitedly replied.

"There has got to be a limit to how cool someone can be who is our friend, but I guess Seto just proves that there isn't," Tristan was practically blasting off to the moon.

Yuugi quirked an eyebrow, "Ok, so what is this super amazing news that I just so happen to have no CLUE about, by the way,"

Seto smiled, a cool and chilling thing to see at the moment. "The RMAX studio is holding a private competition to see who is going to be the introduction to one of their band's concerts."

Yuugi went pale as a ghost, "…you don't mean…" he looked at Joey to find the answer he was hoping was true, but not at the same time.

What Yuugi did next shocked the whole room into silence and stillness. He smiled, and jumped at least ten feet into the air, hugging everyone individually in a crushing hold. The reason: The only band that was going on tour for that season was RMAX's most popular band, _Pharaoh's Resurrection_.

"When do we audition?" Yuugi asked breathlessly.

"In five days," Joey smiled, overjoyed that for the first time in two weeks, Yuugi had actually been genuinely happy.

XDXDXDDXDXDXDDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Author: All right everyone, I will update as soon as you give me 5 REVIEWS.

Yuugi: Isn't that asking for bribes or something?

Author: well, sort of… but I need to know that people will actually READ the story.

Yami: hells yes! But wait…

Author: Yeah?

Yami: where am I? Isn't this a Yuugi/ATEM story?

Author: wow that was subtle. Yes, you WILL be in the story… once I get five reviews!

Yami: (gets up close to the computer screen) PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!

Author: when that wasn't desperate or anything… right?

LOVE YOU ALL & MERRY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!!!


	2. Chapter 2: Everyone's Favorite

Author: Ok, I'm making a disclaimer for the rest of the ENTIRE STORY. The names and songs in this FanFic are NOT MINE, GOT IT?

Author: NOW ON TO THE THEATER!!!

**Chapter 2: Everyone's Favorite**

"Goodnight Cincinnati!" The nameless lead singer yelled with his tired voice into the crowd. The crowd's cheers and applause were shaking the concert hall as the members of _Pharaoh's Resurrection _quickly, coolly left the stage. The lead guitarist, Marik, smiled and blew a kiss to his adoring female fans and (to his dismay) male fans as well.

"We're not in a boy's pop band you know," Bakura, bass and supporting vocals, chided Marik for the hundredth time, "You're in a heavy metal rock group, stop ruining our image."

"Come off it Bakura," Mai, their manger, rolled her eyes. "He could go out on stage wearing a purple tutu and not do a thing to damage our image. He's a good guitarist and that's all our fans really care about."

Marik stuck his tongue out at Bakura, behind Mai's back. Bakura just glared, annoyed and prepared for Marik's payback plan.

"Besides, we all know he does it cause Yami's got girls lined up around the block without even glancing in their direction." Mai added, using the name of the lead singer that he had said they could call him.

Bakura chuckled at the unexpected insult, and it was Marik's turn to plan for revenge.

Yami, watching the entire scene with mild amusement, just shook his head. There was no end to the torture those two but each other through. But, all in all, they were all a very close knit group, and their arguments kept everyone entertained on the long road tours they had.

Mai's eyes suddenly sparked in remembrance. "This was our last city before going back to the studio, right you guys?"

Duke, the drummer, Marik, Yami, and Bakura all looked up to her.

"Isn't it kind of…your JOB to know these kinds of things, Mai?" Yami spoke, less amused than a moment before. He was tired… he hoped this was the last city so that they all could get a rest.

"Hehe…that was a rhetorical question…right…"

The band members all looked to each other, sharing pretty much the same thought: _What a ditz she can be…_

"Anyway, I got a call from the studio and they're saying that when we get back, we have to choose who our opening act will be for our last concert."

Duke quirked an eyebrow, "They're going to let us choose the band?"

"Well… they'll take what you say into consideration…" Mai smiled half-heartedly.

Everyone else just sweatdropped.

"Great. We have no choice in this do we?" Bakura sighed, wondering how dealing with another group of rockers was going to be.

"They're actually holding private competition for it, inviting new and upcoming bands to compete for the spot."

Only one thought crossed Yami's mind: _This is going to be interesting…_

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Yuugi and his friends set up the studio's equipment as best they could, knowing it would be easier then if they had brought their own. They were the second of three groups to go up, and they would have to record a song that was already published and one of their own creations.

Nervous beyond all belief, Yuugi fidgeted with the mic and its stand while he waited for the rest of the group to prepare. A very fine sheen of perspiration coated his forehead, and his throat felt dry as he carefully went over the lyrics once more. _Take a deep breath and get over it already! _ This was their chance to actually make it on the map, into fame and possibly a contract with one of the most famous studios of the century.

There was a click from the small gray intercom above their heads, and everyone looked towards it warily, except Seto, but his father was a great business man and he planned to follow in his foot steps one day.

"You will be performing the published song first, correct?" the round speaker asked them. Yuugi and the others nodded in agreement.

"OK. You now have two minutes to get started, begin when ready,"

Yuugi looked back to Joey and the others who appeared to be ready. They all inclined their heads and Yuugi counted off. Joey began to play a few chords roughly as you began to sing…

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Running a little late from some traffic on the highway, Yami and the rest of the band with Mai made their way to the recording studio in a brisk power walk that made them look like they were running a marathon on the Baywatch show. They had already missed the first group perform, and didn't want to be uncertain with the studio's choice.

As the group neared the second floor studio, they began to hear some familiar music playing. Just before opening the door, Duke inquired,

"Is My Chemical Romance going to open for the show?"

Everyone else shrugged nonchalantly as they opened the door, careful not to make too much noise.

No one was left UN-surprised.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

BACK WITH YUUGI

_They're gonna clean up your looks_

_With all the lies in the books _

_ To make a citizen out of you_

_Because they sleep with a gun _

_And keep an eye on you son_

_So they can watch all the things you do_

Yuugi paused, slightly gaining more confidence.

_Because the drugs never work _

_They gonna give you a smirk_

_Cause they got methods of keeping you clean_

_They gonna rip up your heads_

_Your aspirations to shreds_

_Another cog in the murder machine…_

And everyone joined in for the chorus:

_They said all teenagers scare_

_The living shit out of me_

_They could care less as long as someone will bleed _

_So darken your clothes_

_And strike a violent pose_

_Maybe they'll leave you alone _

_But not me!_

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Everyone in the studio listened to the band, a group of nobodys, rocked the house radically.

"Shit… how did we not see them perform before now?" an amazed company manager muttered. All anyone else could do was listen in dumbfounded excitement.

"Damn. PLEASE tell me you are choosing them to open for us," Bakura was all smiles. The rest of the room shook their heads in muted agreement.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Joey played the last few notes on his guitar, panting along with everyone else.

It was the most passionate and fierce number that they had ever performed. No one could keep his or her smiles hidden.

"That was awesome…" Yuugi managed.

The rest mumbled in compliance and weariness.

The speaker above them interrupted their moment of adrenaline rush.

"That was fantastic. In fact, I think you all are in for a great surprise."

They all looked to each other, confused, but it only lasted a second.

The door to the sound proof room was opened, and in stepped everyone's idols…. _Pharaoh's Resurrection _had come to see them perform in a studio.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Author: DUN DUN DUN!

Yami: why the scary background music?

Author: Because… You don't get to meet Yuugi until the NEXT CHAPTER!!

Yami: You're no fun… (pouts)

Author: well I better be, otherwise I wouldn't put this chapter up before all the reviews were in.

Yuugi: That's nice of you…

Author: I KNOW! But you guys… I need 10 to 15 more reviews before continuing….

Yami and Yuugi: WTF?!!

Author: watch your F'ING language! I have to go to a place with no internet, but I will continue writing while I am there, OK?!!!

Yami and Yuugi: Ok…. (Mutters) hypocrite…

Author: WHAT DID YOU SAY!!!!!? (Chases after Yami)

Yuugi: (hides) PLEASE REVIEW PEOPLE! Oooo…(winces) that looked like it hurt…


	3. Chapter 3: Meet & Greet, The Rocker Way

Author: Alright, you guys are so lucky that I found an internet connection where I am. Here's the next chapter, it's REALLY long, so I hope like it A LOT.

Love you all, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO REVIEW!!!!

The moment the rock group walked in was definitely one that everyone in _Diablo's Rath_ would never forget. Yuugi's eyes almost popped out of his head, and Joey went to stand behind his friend, just in case this meeting would cost Yuugi his consciousness. The problem was that he also had to look out for all the others, including him, because everyone in that room could very well pick their idols from this one group. It was easy to forget that the famous rock group was here in person, not just on prime time TV.

It was even easier to get your tongue tied in knots at the very sight of _Pharaoh's Resurrection _in all their rockish glory. The nameless lead singer walked in first, wearing a dark navy sleeveless tank underneath a black leather vest with a deep silver lining the pockets, and leather pants with knee high combat boots to match. Yuugi couldn't tear his gaze away from him, feeling his heart slow almost to a stop. Somehow, he was now able to see the famous leader face to face, the one who had gotten him through the past few weeks after his grandfather's death. It was incredible. And it was _terrifying_.

Feelings similar to Yuugi's were being shared all around. Tristan saw Duke, his idol drummer, walk in behind Yami, and was stunned by how different he looked and how strange his presence was off stage and right smack dap in front of him. Duke was brimming with confidence, his relaxed and quiet stance seemed to scream that Duke was a radiator of grand popularity and he had no quarrels about basking in it. Joey and Seto had a great respect for the rock group, but were not completely humbled merely by their presence. Marik and Bakura followed behind Duke, and Mai came in last. The door came to a soft close after her, barely registering in the silence of awe.

It was then that Tea suddenly stood. She quickly walked toward the rock band, and everyone's eyes had become locked on her. The band members of _Pharaoh's Rath _prepared themselves for squealing, screaming, even an outrageously strong tackle by the teenage girl, but to their unparalleled surprise… she walked right past them! Now everyone's gaze followed her with more intensity than before.

"MAI!" Tea finally said as she crushed said person into a hug, the silence finally broken.

"Tea!" Mai answered her hug by squeezing her back.

Tea released the hug and held her out at arms length, "What the hell are you doing here?" she smiled.

"My…uh… job?" Mai said, now somewhat uncertain.

Tea's eyes widened. "No way…" she paused, "You're their manager? How could you not tell me? Geez, you never even called to say that you got a job with RMAX… I can't believe that my own cousin gets a gig like this and doesn't even mention it to me!"

"COUSIN?" everyone said in an incredulous exclamation, except Yuugi, focus still intent on Yami.

Mai laughed a little uncertainly, "Whoops, sorry Tea, but when I got the job, they kinda swamped me with work and only a little there after we went on tour…please don't kill me…" the last part she whimpered when she saw Tea's glare.

Joey walked up behind Tea carefully and Tristan followed. Even Yuugi snapped out of his stupor and said, "Tea, seriously, you really don't want to hurt Mai…I mean she's family, right?" Yuugi laughed unevenly.

"Mai, I think you have about five seconds before you are going to be beaten to a pulp…you might want to run now…" Joey said in a stage whisper.

Mai nodded quickly and then bolted out the door, and Tea lurched after her, escaping Tristan's and Joey's clambering hands. Just as they were about to chase after her, Yuugi waved his hand in a dismissive gesture before saying, "Come on guys, leave'em be. She and Mai have always been like that. I don't think that she'll really hurt Mai." He laughed a little.

"You sure Yug?" Joey asked.

"Positive… I hope…"Yuugi said the second part so that no one could really hear him.

"What was that?" Tristan asked accusingly.

"Nothing," Yuugi put his hands up waving them in front of him. Then he caught sight of the band members to the right of him, and almost laughed aloud. In all the mess between Tea and Mai, the famous band had been forgotten in the altercation.

"OH! Sorry you guys, Tea can get kinda scary when she wants to, as you probably already know from Mai, but she is a great DJ and singer. My name's Yuugi, and this is Joey and Tristan and Seto," Yuugi pointed in their direction.

"Hey, what's up?" Joey spoke, "Nice to meet you," Tristan put in. Seto nodded his greeting.

Marik stepped forward, chuckling, "That's fine, and you all seem like great friends. I'm Marik, as I'm sure you know, and this is Duke, Bakura, and the famous, nameless wonder!" Marik said the last part with a little too much sarcasm, which earned him a glare from "nameless wonder".

Looking back toward Yuugi and the others, he said, "You can call me Yami, nameless wonder makes me sound like some sort of circus freak."

Yuugi and the others laughed a bit. Then he spoke, "Nice to finally meet you, I didn't know that you guys were going to come and watch the competition." _Shit… Yami is standing right in front of me! AND I even get to call him by his name… Stay calm Yuugi…don't faint or act like a moron… Just concentrate!_

"Well, we tried, but you guys were the only ones we got to see perform because of traffic, and Bakura's 'awesome' navigating skills." Duke said, and smirked in Bakura's direction.

"Hey, if you want to complain about the way I read a map, then you can fix the freaking navigation system," Bakura bit back.

"We wouldn't be complaining if you actually knew how to read a map, but you were look'n at the thing UPSIDE DOWN!" Duke argued, which made Bakura redden a little. Everyone chuckled at that.

Suddenly, the door flew back open and Mai ran back and hid behind the famous band, "She's coming! Ah crap she's gonna kill me!"

Tea came in after her, now smirking, "I'm not through with you yet, Mai," and she chased Mai, which ended up looking like a ring around the rosey game with the bands as the bush, until Tea finally caught Mai and tickled her sides mercilessly. Tristan and Joey restrained her after a bit, everyone being amused at the cousin's childish antics.

Yuugi went over to help Mai up and reached out his hand, just as Yami did the same, almost mimicking each other. Mai looked up and held back gasp, "Who are you?" She looked at Yuugi. Yuugi blanched, and said, "Geez Mai, you go away for a year and you don't recognize me?" Mai let out a surprised laugh as the two helped her to her feet.

"So it is you, Yuugi, you just grew up too fast, pipsqueak. You look so different, what changed?"

Yuugi's face faltered a great deal. For a least a few moments in meeting his favorite rock band, he had managed to place the thoughts of his grandfather's death to the back of his mind. He placed a smile on his face for everyone else's sake, and answered her honestly, "Well I turned 17, and am now an emancipated minor. That's about all. Man, you really need to keep in contact with Tea more often."

Mai's face went blank. "You mean… Solomon…?"

Yuugi looked away.

"We buried him a month ago," Tea interjected.

Mai looked down and bit her lip. "Excuse me," she walked out of the room quickly.

The room grew solemn. "If you don't mind me asking, who was Solomon?" Yami asked, in all seriousness.

"He was my grandfather," Yuugi looked to him with a sad smile. "He passed away about 5 weeks ago… Mai and everyone else always loved to visit when they had time, but he just… well he died of cancer."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Yami said, and looked for the entire world like he understood Yuugi's pain.

Yuugi nodded in acceptance of the condolence and shrugged, "He wouldn't have wanted to have everyone to grieve for him, though, so I guess we should just move forward with this competition,"

The other band members looked to each other in confusion. "What competition?" Duke asked.

"The one that we were playing for, do you guys have memory lapses or something?" Joey almost blanched.

"Oh, shit," Marik hit his palm on his forehead, "That whole family spat threw us for a loop, you guys won the competition."

"We did?" Yuugi said excitedly.

"Holy crap, we didn't even play one of our written songs," Tristan laughed.

"Well, when you can't tell the difference between your band and My Chemical Romance, I think that it's decided." Yami smirked.

"You couldn't tell the difference? Damn Yuugi, you must have done even better than usual," Tristan smiled, approvingly.

"What do you mean, 'better than usual', he's always that good." Tea chided Tristan while laughing. Yuugi reddened.

"I'm not that good, you guys,"

"Don't sell your self short, Yuugi, you did great," Yami smiled at him.

Yuugi's eyes went wide as saucers. His body went completely rigid. He looked for all to see like a stone statue. _He just complimented me for MY SINGING… I think I'm gonna die…_

"Uh-oh," Joey laughed.

"You've really done it now." Tea shook her head in mock disapproval.

"What did I do wrong?" Yami waved his hand in front of Yuugi's face.

"Dude, you're like his idol, and you just said he did a great job," Tristan laughed and poked Yuugi to see if he could get a reaction.

"Yuugi, would you play one of the songs that you wrote?" Yami asked, wondering if his question would register to Yuugi, and laughing on the inside at how the teen was so transparent.

Yuugi let out the breath he hadn't known that he had been holding.

"You want to hear it? Really?" He said very quietly, looking anywhere but in Yami's direction.

"I think everyone wants to hear one," Bakura smiled, whilst everyone else in the group nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Yuugi, how about that one you wrote two months ago?" Joey suggested.

"You think it's ready?" Yuugi wondered.

"It's just as good as any of the others, lets play it," Seto hurried them along, more eager than he would admit to.

"Alright then, Joey, Tristan, Tea, you ready?" Yuugi positioned himself in front of the mic. They nodded to him and Tea began to play the mix she had created for the back up music. Tristan started to beat on the symbol and the side of the drum with the beat. Yuugi took one more deep breath to compose himself, closing his eyes to block out the distraction that had just recently entered the room:

_I think I'm drownin'_

_Asphyxiatin'_

_I want break the spell that you've created,_

Yuugi opened his eyes with more confidence than before.

_You're something beautiful_

_A contradiction_

_I want to play the game_

_I want the friction_

_You will be the death of me_

_Yeah you will be the death of me_

_Bury it_

_I won't let you bury it_

_I won't let you smother it_

_I won't let you murder it…_

Yami still couldn't believe his ears. Or his eyes, for that matter. Yuugi had written this? Yuugi was singing this? It was almost inconceivable. He looked so different than he sounded. He was a contradiction. Yuugi had a smaller form than he did, yet Yami could see the sleek muscles on Yuugi's arms tighten as he clenched the mic stand, he knew that Yuugi wasn't weak or as innocent as he looked. That was evident in the passion with which he sang; he devoted himself to his music, much like a writer on novels or a dancer. Anyone who has a clue about real talent knows this. Yami found he was unable to look away from Yuugi in the least, completely drawn into his voice, his song, his eyes…

The song had finished while Yami had been lost in his thoughts. Everyone else clapped and cheered at the end of the song, and he clapped as well, unconsciously. He still was entranced by Yuugi, who was now panting again out of exertion. Yuugi had a goofy smile on his face, questioning, "So, how was it?"

"That was great, you guys," Bakura still clapped.

"Sweet guitar and DJ work," Marik smiled wide.

"Not bad drumming, Tristan," Duke smirked, and laughed a little while Tristan, Tea, and Joey tried to hide their embarrassment by the compliments.

"Great song, how long did it take you to write it, Yuugi?" Yami regained himself once more.

"Well, I think it took me two hours to get the basic lyrics down, but I had to change it a lot with everyone before it was ready to practice with, I'm glad with how it turned out," Yuugi responded, sheepishly.

"This kinda makes me want to practice too," Bakura looked to Yami, and Yami smiled, "We still have that one song that we haven't practiced all that much yet."

Bakura picked up the bass resting against the wall by the door, strapping it over his shoulder. The others began to get in position with their instruments, and the members of _Diablo's Rath _were practically bubbling with excitement, no longer in apprehension over meeting the famous band. Tea excused herself, though, saying she was going to check on Mai, and that she would try to get back with her cousin soon.

This announcement had Yuugi caught between excitement and sadness, and he tried to give a reassuring smile to Tea as she left, and she smiled back.

"Let's get it started then," Yami unknowingly interrupted. His face went blank in concentration, and he nodded his head to Marik's guitar chords and Duke's hard drumming. Then he began to sing:

_Throw your dollar bill_

_And leave your thrills_

_All here with me_

_Speak but don't pretend_

_I won't defend you any more you see…_

_It aches in every bone_

_I'll die alone_

_But not for you_

_I see my heart explode _

_It's been eroded by the weather here_

_If you want me hold me back!_

_Frail, this skin drying pale,_

_The pain will never fail,_

_And so it goes back to the remedy…_

Yami's powerful voice had a very similar affect to Yuugi as Yuugi's singing had on Yami. The tight shirt that Yami was wearing also didn't help much; the toned muscles showed through the dark material, and his tanned strong arms were smooth and irresistible to look at. Yuugi could almost see himself reaching out to touch them, to slide his hands up them until they reached Yami's strong back… _Dirty thoughts Yuugi, DRITY THOUGHTS! _Yuugi resisted the urge to smack himself on the head, but listened more intently to the song instead.

_The way to get you high_

_Just leave them where they lie_

_And tell yourself you'll_

_Be the death of me…_

Yuugi clapped enthusiastically at the ending of their song. So did everyone else, including Tea and Mai, who had reentered without Yuugi noticing. He smiled at that. Though Mai had just been informed of his grandpa's death, he knew she wouldn't grieve too long, she had been great friends with Solomon, and she knew that he wouldn't want her to 'fret over an old man like him'. Yuugi smiled wider in his memories.

"I think that we just got our own private demo," Joey looked as if he could barely contain himself.

"THIS IS SO COOL! Seriously Seto, you have got to be the best unpaid manager in the entire WORLD." Tristan smiled.

Seto almost blushed under all the attention his friends were giving him.

"Hey, I know this gonna sound like an interview question, but how long have you guys known each other?" Yuugi asked Yami, as all their other friends praised and talked amongst themselves.

"I think it's been roughly over five years, we all met our first year in middle school." Yami said.

"Wow. I've only known Tristan that long. We were both on the swim team, and still are apart of one." Yuugi said, remembering to himself.

"Yeah, the swim team? How do you practice your songs, I've heard that swimming works you pretty hard." _That explains the muscles,_ Yami thought, but trying not to think about at it same time.

"It's off season right now, but even during swimming, the band still practices on Sundays,"

"How do you keep up with school and all that when you practice so much?" Yami inquired.

"I could ask you the same question," Yuugi raised his eyebrows. "You guys just got back from being on tour and you still have another concert to prepare for."

Yami sighed, "Private tutor. A real pain in the as—" he stopped as another man entered the room, a pleased and satisfied expression on his face.

"So, _Diablo's Rath_, huh? You guys, simply put, are like striking gold in the middle of a salt mine. How did you escape us with that kinda talent?" The group beamed, all except Seto, who was annoyed at how difficult it had been to even give their band a chance at being promoted. Yuugi was about answer when the man said, "That was a rhetorical question. This however is not: Will you be ready to open for our band in six days when you travel to New York?" the president of the music division directed at Yuugi.

"Well guys," he turned around to face them, voice all serious but with an excited smile twitching at the corners of his lips, "What do you think?"

"I guess, since we won the competition and all…" Joey said with a bored tone but a smile still fixed in place.

"NEW YORK CITY, HERE WE COME!" Tea exclaimed as Joey and Tristan each other high fives.

_Finally, Mom, Dad, Grandpa, I'm gonna do it. _Yuugi sent a small prayer to them as he cheered and celebrated with his friends.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

The day after was Monday, a school day, much to everyone's disappointment. However, it was only 4 days, 2 hours, and 37 minutes (Yuugi and the others wanted to make the countdown official) before they boarded a plane to spend a 6 hour flight to New York City. So, school wasn't as bad as it had usually seemed, but it was absolute torture to actually sit the classes and pay attention. Yuugi sometimes wished that he didn't have to go to school anymore, but knowledge, as one wise man once said, is the real tool that keeps you successful and happy in life. And it never hurt to know that there was no way that Russia could not be conquered by land, and just in case Yuugi's music career didn't pay off, he could always dominate the world. _I'd be like a mix between Napoleon and Alexander the Great…_ Yuugi laughed inwardly at his thoughts. He tried to imagine himself as ruler of the world, and it didn't exactly bear the title of 'menacing'. He had once been made fun of for his height, but he had grown to be about 5 foot just before he started high school, and was no longer dubbed 'the short kid' to his great relief. But still, standing around his rather tall friends some times gave him the feeling of smallness, though it hadn't been happening all that often anymore.

_Ok, I'm now out of ideas on how to keep myself interested in history._ This was the last period of the day, and trying to keep his mind in somewhat school related matters was too taxing to attempt anymore. Of course, thinking about what was to come, about anything related to their band playing in a few days, only reminded him of the two short hours where he had been with Yami, watching him perform, trying not to lock eyes with him while performing his own songs… _Now that was absolute torture… Damn it, I hate being a hormonal teenager! Think CLEAN thoughts, CLEAN thoughts… _

The bell rang, interrupting Yuugi's slow road to self inflicted insanity. _At least school is over. Wonder what's supposed to be going on; finals are coming up so everybody's going to be studying, right? Arrrg… it sucks that we get back like two days before finals start._

After opening the door at the end of the school hallway, Yuugi found an interesting sight: a red convertible, with three teenagers that DEFINETLY did not go to Domino High. All of them were wearing sunglasses, and outrageously stylish outfits. _Now that hair is hard to miss…_Yuugi smiled to himself, but then his face went pale. _**What are they doing here?**_

Yuugi immediately made a bee line for the red luxury car, trying not to panic. Once, right before he got there, some one called out to him, "Hey, Yuugi," Yuugi turned. It was Kevin. Kevin walked up to him quickly, looking oddly curious while glancing to the red car and then back at Yuugi. "Is that your cousin or something? He looks a lot like you,"

"No, we're just friends," Yuugi glanced back at the expensive car and saw a small crowd of whispering spectators beginning to form. "I think that they're waiting for me, though, so see you later," he called back to Kevin as he left. Kevin strained his eyes on the people in the car once again, "Man where have I SEEN them before?" Giving up on it, he shook his head and walked off.

Yuugi reached the car, a little more than distressed. Looking exasperatingly at each sunglasses clad rock star incredulously, he was at a loss for words.

"Hey Yuugi, what's up?" Duke asked from the back seat. Marik sat in back beside him on the right, waving his hand in greetings.

Finding his voice once more, "What are you guys doing here?" he looked behind him once again to see a bigger crowd watching them.

Yami chuckled in the front, and Marik, feigning hurt feelings, said, "You don't like us anymore, Yuugi? And after all we've been through," he pouted sarcastically.

Yuugi shook his head, still tense, "You do realize some of your most stalker-likely fans are at this high school, right?"

"We'll be gone soon, we just wanted to know if you wanted to go with us to hang out or something," Yami tried to hide his amusement at Yuugi's desperate expression.

Still attempting to come up with an answer to the easiest question in the world, someone hastened his decision.

"Yo, Yuugi," said a frighteningly familiar voice called. "Got somethin' for ya. Come on, I'll walk you home," Yuugi didn't even turn to see who it was behind that twisted sounded invitation.

Without another thought, he jumped into the shotgun seat next to Yami.

"Drive," was the only thing he said.

Yami lowered his sunglasses to look at Yuugi. "What's with the sudden change in thought?"

Yuugi turned and looked him straight in the eyes, capturing Yami's attention like nothing else could. "I'll explain later, but seriously if you want to wait here and find out first hand, I can pretty much guarantee you I'm not gonna be singing in any concert for a long time."

That got Yami back in gear. He started the car, and speed off with the tires almost screeching. After the school was at least ten miles behind them, Yuugi let out a deep breath, molding into the cushy leather seat. No one had said anything until Yami pulled over in front of a Pizza Shoppe with an arcade.

"Thank you," Yuugi ran his hands through his thick hair. "Sorry for the weird behavior. That asshole has been on my case since freaking freshman year."

"What was that all about though?" Duke questioned.

"You saw him, right?" Yuugi looked back at Duke. Both he and Marik nodded. "He's like three times your size."

"Yeah, he's like the size of a bear compared to me." Yuugi said.

"So, he bullies you?" Yami asked, grinding his teeth to keep back his anger.

"He used to. But then one day I decided to fight back, and I completely kicked his ass. But instead of us both getting suspended like it's supposed to be, he got suspended and I the _smaller, weaker one_," Yuugi's fists clenched noticeably in his lap, "Got pitied and was allowed to get off with a detention. His mom and dad were furious at him, and he's pretty much grounded until he's eighteen for 'picking on the little guy'. I kicked his ass to the dirt, and I'm the 'little guy'?" Yuugi threw his hands into the air, sighing harshly, "So now that his suspension is over, he's after me like I ran over his Rottweiler and I can't do anything about it but run." Everyone by this point could see that Yuugi was _beyond_ pissed.

"Why can't you just beat him up again?" Marik asked him in confusion.

Yuugi shook his head to try and clear out some of the anger. "Because I'm in charge of myself now, and just like if I'm 18, I can get filed for assault charges by him or his parents and I get kicked out of school and he gets to whine to his parents like a freaking wolf in sheep's skin."

"No offense or anything, Yuugi, but just how did you beat up a guy that big?" Duke inquired.

"Jujitsu, five and a half years. That's another reason I can't fight him, I'm considered a weapon. And you wouldn't be surprised to find out how dumb that idiot is." Yuugi smirked, remembering how good it felt to _finally_ punch that guy in the gut.

Yami's eyes were wide behind his sunglasses. Then he smiled and started laughing.

Yuugi and everyone else looked at him strangely.

"I don't think that I've ever heard of someone running away from a fight because they'll win it, but it just shows that you should never expect anything in life," Yami laughed, amused, and Duke and Marik joined as well.

Yami's laugh was deep and soothing to Yuugi, and he found himself smiling at the backwards thinking that was his life at the moment. He watched Yami push his sunglasses on top of his head and look into his eyes. It was a shock to Yuugi's system; he had forgotten how intense Yami's eyes were, the red-tinged darkness that would bury into you thoughts and heartstrings, and he knew without a doubt why Yami was so popular in the band. The tanned skin, the sharp chin and defined cheeks and nose, the hair that just made him look so sexy…

Yami was also in his own little world thinking about Yuugi; about how surprisingly aggressive the teen was, the fierce, but kind eyes that left him with tingling flesh and heated blood pumping through him faster than ever before. Others might have seen Yuugi Moto as small and unworthy, but it was more than obvious to Yami that those people needed a psych evaluation. Seeing Duke and Marik opening their doors to go inside the Shoppe, he smiled at Yuugi, which Yuugi returned, and almost lost in their own private thoughts, Duke commented, "You guys want to wait till closing or what?"

Ridding himself of unclean thoughts for the umpteenth time that day, Yuugi unbuckled and got out of the car and started to walk up to the restaurant, Yami following close behind him.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

"You were way too good at that racing game Yuugi," Marik clapped him on the back.

"Well, what else do you think you can do in a small town like this? It's like an hour from the city," Yuugi shrugged.

"Hey Yami, can you drop me off at the studio? I think I have to get like a wardrobe check or some shit like that," Duke, though annoyed, suddenly remembered.

"If you drop him off there, I'm going too, I have to go over my contract with Mai," Marik rolled his eyes at the idea of discussing that again.

"Sure, you need to be dropped off anywhere Yuugi?" Yami asked.

"Nope, I'm planning on doing absolutely nothing but messing around for the rest of the day," Yuugi plopped into the shotgun seat, game satisfied and full of junk food.

Yami chuckled at Yuugi's attitude change. He started the car once again and dropped off the two in the backseat.

Driving on a two lane open highway back towards town, Yami's eyes shifted to Yuugi, who had his eyes closed and was enjoying the breezed that the fast car created.

"Where to?" He asked Yuugi.

Without opening his eyes, Yuugi contemplated his choices. Once making a random decision final somewhere in his head, he said, "How about my house? Unless you have something else to do,"

Yami was taken aback for the hundredth time that day at Yuugi's actions. _An invitation?_ He wondered in his thoughts.

"Sounds like a plan to me. What do you want to do?" Yami wondered aloud.

There were so many answers to that question…not many in his mind that could be done in polite company or any kind of company, for that reason.

Yuugi settled for, "Whatever we want. Nobody's there, so basically anything."

Yami smirked. There weren't many 'clean' things he could think of doing at the moment either.

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Author: Shit…

Yami: What?

Author: I just typed out NINE PAGES… I feel like a god…

Yami: well, at least you got a lot of me in this one…

Yuugi: Geez Yami, anyone ever tell you you're a little vain?

Yami: how could I not be? I'm a sexy rocker in this story… and you are too…

Yuugi: you're always sexy

Yami: (grins) No wonder we get along so well (grabs Yuugi and takes him to a private room, slamming the door)

Author: hehehe… I think they're gonna be in their a while… anyway, hoped you enjoyed the chapter and Yuugi's character… you know the drill, five more reviews and you get more! See you soon!

Album List of Songs Used so Far (in order):

Forsaken – Disturbed

Teenagers – My Chemical Romance

Time is Running Out – Muse

Remedy – Seether

MORE TO COME!!!


	4. Chapter 4: Connections

Author's Note: Hey you guys. I wanted to apologize to you who thought that holding my new writings for reviews was annoying or rude. I love writing a lot, and I want people to comment on it so that I can see my mistakes as well as my good points. I won't hold you guys to review anymore, and I also apologize in advance if my story takes a long time to update, it's hard to get the plot straight in my mind. I thank all of you so much for reading and reviewing for my story, and I love that you guys enjoy it. Have faith in me, and I will update as fast and as well as I can. Love you all, and I hope you like this next chapter! ; )

Chapter 4:

Yuugi's house was located on a street called Juniper at number 406, where it was the farthest from the entering road. The two-story beige colored home with a dark brown trim was very similar to the other houses in the neighborhood. A pathway made of many shades of gray stones lead to a deep mahogany door with a frosted glass lining it. Yami followed Yuugi to the door, where he took out his keys and opened the door.

The entryway had light wood paneling, with light green and brown speckled carpet extending from there into a dining room and the living room. As Yami removed his shoes along with Yuugi, his eyes explored the small kitchen just visible beyond the dining room, with gray linoleum tiling and black cabinets with sliver handles. He also saw that the living room had a deep green suede love seat and a three person couch to match, meeting at a right angle in front of a 37 inch flat screen TV on a cherry wood entertainment center. Inside and all around the entertainment center were movies, both DVD and VHS. The titles ranged from _The Sword in the Stone_ to _88 minutes_; Yuugi was obviously an avid movie watcher. There was also a coffee table positioned between the couches, the same wood as the entertainment center. Yami concluded, after this quick sweep of the bottom level of the house, that (besides the movie collection) it was very bear, and lonely. There were no random possessions lying around, no magazines on the coffee table or the end table beside the couch, (which only had a simple gray lamp atop it), or leftover dishes, or papers or books from homework, not even _dust_ intruded on this empty, clean space in the world, the only clue that someone visited this place, but not lived in it.

_It may as well be a museum, _Yami thought, and to his dismay he also realized, _it probably is to Yuugi. _The teenager had just recently lost the last member of his family, and the house was only a sad reminder that he had lived in, constantly invading his mind with memories of a Grandpa, a Mother, and a Father, who had unwillingly left Yuugi to mold his own future; no more advice left to guide him down a straight and safe path. Now, instead he was most likely veer into any side roads where dark tunnels awaited behind unseen curves and potholes. Yami understood this all too familiar detour, and knew that it took more than luck and friends to make a new life out of a broken gem that cut deep into your soul and heart.

His attention finally returned to Yuugi, who now was removing his school uniform jacket. It was warm in the house, despite the haunted aura it emanated, and Yami took off his own leather jacket as well.

"Home sweet home," Yuugi commented dryly.

"It's…not what I expected. You live here by yourself?" Yami looked to him.

Yuugi nodded.

"Hire a maid or something like that?" Yami wondered aloud.

"Nah-uh. I just don't do much here anymore… I guess I'm almost always at a friend's house or at school. I usually only come here to sleep or be alone…" Yuugi trailed off, walking over to the longer couch.

Yami frowned a little.

"Damn, that sounded morbid, didn't it?" Yuugi smiled back at him, somehow in good humor again.

Yami smiled and shook his head, trying not to let Yuugi's sudden attitude change affect him too much. "So, what else it there to do other than sleep and be alone?"

"Movies, games, eating junk food, writing songs, singing karaoke… I could call the others over here and play Pictionary or something like that…"

Yami raised his eyebrow at that, "Pictionary?"

Yuugi laughed, "You would not believe how crazy it gets when we start drawing… even in the kid's Pictionary set."

"How about a movie then? I'm not really in the mood to be crazy right now."

Yuugi made a half-frown and shrugged, "Your loss. But we're definitely going to have to show you guys sometime. So…" Yuugi stood and spread his arms in a wide motion toward the movie collection, "What movie do you want to see?"

Yami's eyes scanned the variety in front of him before picking a movie out of its row. "This one?" He wondered, showing the title to Yuugi.

Yuugi raised his eyebrows at the choice. "I never would have guessed…"

XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

Sitting on the longer couch in the living room, the two boys had all but dismissed the action now playing out on the screen. Facing one another, they bickered over their favorite characters in the Inuyasha 3rd movie: Swords of an Honorable Ruler.

It had all started when Yuugi had commented on how cool and mysterious Sesshoumarou (sp?) seemed, and how misunderstood he was. Yami had argued that Miroku was the better character, and stronger than he seemed to be.

"I mean, come on, he could literally die any minute and still Miroku lives like nothing is wrong," Yami said, "All Sesshoumarou has to worry about is his damn pride,"

"Not true! He brought Rin back to life and makes sure she is always safe, putting himself in danger before allowing her to get hurt," Yuugi looked to the TV screen and pointed, "See! He just blocked an attack that might have killed him for her!"

"So? He knew that he could protect himself before he blocked it. Miroku is a human and protects Sango with his wind tunnel and his body, like in the first movie, even though he gets sick doing it," Yami argued, not backing down.

"Not to mention that he gropes Sango every five seconds and asks girls to sleep with him right in front of her! He's a jackass, he even asked like a 10 year old to be his bedmate." Yuugi blanched.

"At least he shows some emotion! Sesshoumarou walks around like he has a stick up his ass and it smells bad," Yami smirked.

Even Yuugi had to laugh at that one, but quickly stifled it to show he wouldn't be swayed. His face got deadly serious as a thought finally occurred to him.

"I know how to solve this one." Yuugi let a hint of a smile come to his face.

"How?" Yami looked wearily at the other teen's face.

"Well, who would you rather sleep with, if you absolutely had to choose between them?" Yuugi's smile got bigger.

Yami's eyes widened. Then his brows furrowed in concentration. _Damn, that is a hard one. They're both hot, but if I met them in person…oh that's a creepy thought._ He looked at Yuugi incredulously, "You obviously choose Fluffy (A/N: That's Sesshomaru's nickname off screen people), right?"

Again, Yuugi laughed, but this time much harder. "Sure. He is hotter than Miroku, plus, you can't really tell from the show if he's gay or not….Hehe, Fluffy. That's a new way to look at him." It was hard to imagine someone as serious as Sesshoumarou having a nickname like fluffy.

"Shit. You got me there. Sesshoumarou is hotter, but Miroku at least has some feeling to him." Yami shook his head. "I'm at a loss, can't decide. Just gonna have to sleep with them both before I choose." He shrugged.

Yuugi shook his head and glared disapprovingly at Yami. "You playboy."

Yami smiled. "What can I say? I'm a rock star. Gotta keep up my image." He turned up his collar comically when he said "image". Yuugi laughed again. He turned in the TV's direction, seeing that Sesshoumarou's and Inuyasha's father had appeared before them.

Yuugi's eyes dimmed at the sight of the brother's long lost father, sympathizing with Inuyasha for not having known his own.

Yami gazed between the TV and Yuugi, who sat with his elbows on his knees with his hand's clasped between them, leaning forward towards the screen. His expression was flat, and apathetic, while his eyes glistened a little, filled with memory and depression. Yami could see that Yuugi was trying his best to hide this from him, and this made Yami feel helpless in the face of Yuugi's never-ending turmoil. Without thinking, Yami lifted his hand and caught Yuugi's chin, turning his face to look at Yami.

Yuugi's eyes shifted to him, catching Yami's eyes and found himself caught off guard. Yami's expression was pained, as if he had just heard that his beloved uncle had died, but his eyes were steady, unwavering from Yuugi's own. Yuugi inhaled softly, holding this breath while feeling insecure and intrigued all at once. His eyes began to get unfocused as Yami's hand moved to hold his cheek, thumb pressing and then wiping away a tear that Yuugi had not meant to shed. He was far to shocked to shed anymore now.

"I'm not gonna tell you that it gets any better, Yuugi," Yami said softly, "cause it still hurts me when ever I think about my mom… but it does get to where you don't cry every time you think about them… you find some sort of peace after a while. I think that's why I can sing so well… she always used to love to sing with me…" Yami smiled sadly, eyes connecting with Yuugi's stunned one once more.

Using his other hand, Yami brushed the tears from Yuugi's left cheek, careful not to look away from Yuugi's expressive eyes, eyes that he had decided that he loved after only a few times seeing them. Then, without really having any idea why, he leaned toward Yuugi's face, slightly rubbing his nose on the others, before he lightly pushed his lips on Yuugi's, eyes drooping shut in the process. He stayed there, not moving forward, waiting for a reaction.

Yuugi had his eyes wide open in shock, heart pounding like a jack hammer in his chest. Yami was wiping away his tears? Yami was _kissing_ him? Wait, what was he doing? NOTHING? This was not going to do…

Yuugi forced his body to move, finally breaking the moment of awkwardness by bringing his hands to Yami's shoulders. He slid them around his neck and pulled him closer, responding with his own lips as well.

Yami had to hide the smile from creeping to the corner of his lips. Yuugi was kissing him back. It was more than he could hope for, seeing as he had only known the short rocker for a few days. Yami's arms slid down and encircled Yuugi's waist, tugging him closer. He was surprised when Yuugi's tongue gently licked his bottom lip, asking physically if Yami would want to go farther than just a chaste kiss. Yami found himself liking Yuugi better every second, not expecting for Yuugi to be so forward with what he wanted. He complied with Yuugi's wish, but dominated the kiss soon and pushed Yuugi underneath him, holding himself above the smaller boy with his arms on either side of Yuugi's head. Yami's fingers trailed down Yuugi's side, almost sliding them under his shirt…

The phone rang.

Both boys paused in their actions, staring at each other with confusion, as if they had never heard the phone ring before in their entire lives. Then it registered in Yuugi's cloudy mind, his eyes widened as he wiggled out from under Yami and dashed to the phone in the kitchen. He was ready to kill who ever had disturbed their moment. _Just when it was getting good…_

He shook the thought from his head as he finally picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Yuugi!"

"Oh, hi Tea," Yuugi recognized the voice.

"Don't you 'hi' me mister! You were supposed to meet us at the library like an hour ago!" She said, only half meaning the anger in her tone.

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry Tea, I completely forgot about the study group thing. AGH. I really didn't mean to forget, its just that Ushio found me again and…"

"USHIO! I'm going to kill that asshole! He didn't hurt you did he? You aren't like going to the hospital or something are you? WHAT THE HEL--"

"Chill, Tea, CHILL! I'm fine, Yami and the others picked me up before Ushio could start anything, really…" Yuugi tried to calm the raging girl.

"Yami and the others? They were at our school? What for?" Tea wondered aloud.

"I guess they just wanted to get to know us a bit better…I'm sorry that I didn't come and get you guys and tell you, but that whole thing with Ushio came up and…" Yuugi trailed off.

"It's alright Yuugi, you don't have to explain, I'm not mad," Tea stated sincerely. But Yuugi heard the "Like hell we're not mad!" that sounded and awful lot like Tristan in the background. He chuckled at the sound.

"Sorry Tristan," He said, knowing that the teen couldn't hear him and would not have accepted the apology that easily anyhow.

Tea laughed lightly as well, "I'm going to let you go before these two lug heads have a chance to murder you over the phone…see you tomorrow Yuugi,"

"Ja ne," He replied and hung up. He smiled and shook his head at the antics of his friends before turning to go back to where Yami sat, holding another movie in his hand. Yuugi smiled wider.

"You read my mind," he said, before taking the movie _'Ironman'_ out Yami's hands and popping into the DVD player.

_Who doesn't enjoy a good action comedy?_


	5. Chapter 5: Just Three Days Left!

Author: Hey there, all. JUST A LITTLE WARNING HERE: Yugi and friends will be using some unsavory language, if you catch my drift. Yes, this story had bad words in it, please get over it and don't be too surprised. No flames for language use, if you can't handle it, then please DO NOT READ. Thanks, and here's the next installment of Maniac Rock!!!

Chapter Five: Just Three Days Left!

It was Thursday, March 14, and school had just been released. Just like the day before, Atem sat in the parking lot of the school, waiting for Yugi and his friends.

Although there wasn't a session at the studio today, Atem and Duke had wanted to see the other band members in another attempt to get to know them better. Hopefully, this time there would be no Ushio to interrupt their plans. In fact, Atem had considered asking that security accompany them to Yugi's school to pick him up, but then decided that any extra attention was a bad thing. No one knew that Yugi's band was going to open for Pharaoh's Resurrection, and both of the band's managers wanted to keep it that way.

The final bell rang and snapped Atem out of his thoughts. His eyes searched while the students poured out of the school's main doors, and spotted Tea and Joey walking along with Tristan trailing behind. Yugi was no where in sight. Strange...

Duke called out to the trio and they walked to where Atem and Duke were parked. Atem was sitting in a black corvette with the top down, and Duke was leaning against his black and silver Harley. The three teens stared at the two in the parking lot, curious.

"What's up you two?" Tristan asked.

"We just came by to see what you guys were doing. We didn't have practice today so we thought you might want to do something..." Duke answered, pushing his sunglasses higher on his face to make sure no one recognized him.

"Well, we weren't planning on anything, so do you have someplace in mind?" Tea responded, looking between the two rockers.

"How about the movies? There's a bunch of flicks we haven't been able to see yet," Atem suggested.

"Sounds good to me, as long as there's popcorn and candy!" Joey replied enthusiastically.

Tea rolled her eyes at Joey's endless pit of a stomach. "I'll call up Seto then, see if he's not too busy," Tea pulled out her phone, pausing when Atem interrupted her with a question.

"What about Yugi? Is he sick or something?" Atem sounded more than a little worried.

"Oh yeah, he didn't come today did he?" Tristan said.

"You know that he always stays home on this day..." Tea said quietly.

"I almost forgot, it is the anniversary and all," Joey looked down and away from the group.

"Anniversary of what?" Duke wondered aloud.

"His parents' death, he's always stayed home on March 14th, ever since 2004." Tea sighed. "I think we should visit him though, just in case he might be willing to get out of the house."

"Shouldn't we call him first?" Atem asked, a little confused.

"He won't answer his phone, in fact he's probably unplugged it by now..." Tristan trailed off.

"Yeah, he usually doesn't to be interrupted," Joey added.

"Interrupted?" Duke questioned, baffled.

"This is when Yugi writes some of his best lyrics," Tea smiled somewhat, "It's like he's inspired tenfold whenever this day comes around,"

"Then, should we really bother him?" Atem asked, skeptically.

"Yugi, whether he admits it or not, needs us more today then he ever has or probably ever will," Tea said, and Joey and Tristan nodded in agreement. "Besides, it will help him to get out of his home that he shared with his gramps," She added, eyes lost in a moment of sorrow.

Atem nodded, sharing a look with Duke before waving the teens to join him in the car. Joey got in the shotgun seat and Tristan jumped into the back, but Tea was called over to Duke, a questioning expression on her face.

"You want to ride with me?" Duke flashed a grin, holding out a helmet in his hand.

Tea flushed slightly; "Sure," she grasped the black helmet timidly.

The occupants of the corvette gave a meaningful look to one another, smiling as Atem turned on the car and pulled away from the school.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yugi looked down at the lined paper he was currently composing on. The lyrics to the song on its face were complete, along with two others. He was in the basement, the type with cement walls that were good for blocking out sound, which was perfect for the quiet neighborhood he lived in. He had locked himself in there for almost five hours, only pausing to eat a light snack and take bathroom breaks. He often came down here to practice songs with the band or to write and test out new ideas for lyrics. It was also the perfect hideaway from the world; no sunlight or moon to taunt him, no sound or technology except the band equipment and his own thoughts.

Yes, Yugi loved in down here. Sometimes, there was no place he would rather be. But for the last few months, he had been reluctant to venture down, if only for the memories the place evoked within his mind: late nights and early mornings when his grandpa would force him to come upstairs for a meal or to go to bed, and if he had been practicing for a band gig, gramps would often bring meals down to him.

Goddamn did he miss his caretaker, his second father. But even thinking about him now, Yugi would not let tears collect in his eyes. His gramps deserved more than that.

So, he picked up the acoustic guitar laying next to him on the battered old couch and positioned it in his arms, letting the nostalgia of the moment guide his voice and song's passion.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The black corvette and Harley parked on the curb near Yugi's door. Duke let out a low whistle at the sight of the house.

"So Yugi lives here, all by himself?" Duke looked appraising.

"Yeah, for the past few months," Joey answered, ringing the doorbell. The group waited several minutes before they came to the conclusion that Yugi had not heard the summons.

"Guess we'll just let ourselves in..." Tea pulled out a key from her purse, opening the door, "He's probably just in the basement."

"HEY, YUGI, WE'RE CRASHING YOUR HOUSE!" Tristan called out. No response.

"Tristan, you know that he can't hear you..." Tea led them to a door at the end a the hallway next to the stairs. "Now, everyone be quiet, he's probably working on a song," She carefully opened the door, and they heard Yugi sing:

Pain, without love

Pain, I can't get enough

Pain, I like it rough,

Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all....

The five teens cautiously padded down the stairs, trying not to disturb the engaged Yugi.

You're sick of feeling numb,

You're not the only one,

I'll take you by the hand,

And show you a world that you can understand,

This life is filled with hurt,

When happiness doesn't work,

Trust me, and take my hand,

When the lights go out you'll understand....

Yugi opened his eyes and saw the group standing across the room from him. To say the least, he was surprised.

"SHIT!" He cried out, jumping up and falling on his ass. He luckily had dropped guitar he was holding onto the couch, but he could hardly breathe.

The others tried, and failed, to stifle their laughter. Yugi was staring at them with wide amethyst eyes, looking for all the world like he was about to be run over by a semi.

"Sorry, Yugi," Tea stuttered out, holding a hand over her stomach to keep the laughter in.

"We thought you would've heard us come in," Joey said, snickering.

"YOU GUYS AREN'T SORRY!" Yugi shouted, trying to breathe normally. His distressed manner only made the situation more comical to the others, along with the pout that followed.

"I am so going to get you back for this," He murmured, looking at the ground, "So, what did you come for, are we supposed to be meeting at the studio or something?" Yugi asked.

"No, we just wanted to see if you wanted to come with us to the movies," Tristan told him.

Yugi cocked his head, looking at them all thought fully. "Is it just you guys or...?"

"No, Seto said he would come, and Duke called Marik and Bakura," Joey got over his fit of chuckles, finally. "They'll meet us at the theater when we call them next,"

Yugi nodded, and picked up the dropped instrument before taking it back to its stand. Then he stretched he muscles out a little, trying to get the blood flow back in working order.

"So, what's your new song named, Yug?" Tristan wondered.

"The one you just heard was called 'Pain', if you couldn't already tell, the other one I wrote is called 'Falling for the First Time', and the last is a secret," Yugi counted them out on his fingers.

"Why won't you tell us the last one, Yugi?" Tea asked slyly, "If its any thing like the last one you wrote on Halloween, it should be pretty good,"

Yugi's eyes widened slightly at that comment, and he shook his head frantically, "NO! No, it isn't anything like that demented piece of music. It's just a surprise, that's all,"

Duke leaned over to Tea and asked in a stage whisper, "What is the song he wrote last autumn?"

"Its called 'A Little Piece of Heaven'," Tea said aloud, not hiding the answer.

"That doesn't sound to horrific," Atem raised an eyebrow.

"And that's exactly what makes it so messed up," Yugi sighed, "And it wasn't only me who wrote it, Joey and Tristan helped," Yugi smiled at a particularly goofy memory, "'Course, we were all stone drunk at the time," Joey, Tristan, and Yugi shared a hearty laugh, and Tea giggled a little.

"I remember that, Tristan got in sooo much trouble when he came home that night, all wobbly and delirious," Tea said. "That's also when our game of Pictionary got so good," Yugi howled when he heard her say that.

"Joey's drawing was the best...I think he was trying to draw an elephant, but it came out looking _soooooo_ wrong," Yugi gasped out. Joey turned red from embarrassment.

Atem and Duke joined in on the laughter this time. It took a while for everyone to settle down from their hilarity, but everyone was content in the happy moment.

"So, how about it Yugi? You coming with us?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah, sure. Just let me get my stuff togeth-" Yugi was cut off by the sound of the phone ringing that drifted down from the first floor of the house.

"Give me a second, I'll get ready soon," Yugi ran up the stairs, the others ambling behind him.

Once on the first floor, Yugi grabbed the phone off its hook in the living room, which was sitting on the cherry wood end table next to the couch.

"Hello?" He answered the phone.

"HEY YUGI!" A very familiar voice yelled into his ear.

"HOLY SHIT!! RYOU! I haven't heard from you in weeks!" Yugi shouted back, excited. "What's going on?"

"Well, I've been having a good time living in London and all, but I miss you guys like fuckin crazy," Ryou said, "So...guess what?"

"What?" Yugi asked, now somewhat suspicious. His back was turned on the others in the room, who had rushed in when they had first heard Yugi yelling into the mouthpiece. Now they were all devastatingly curious, only hearing one side of the engaging conversation.

"Remember what you told me before, about staying with you in America?" Ryou continued, a sly tone very evident in his voice.

"Yes, YES! You mean...?" Yugi's eyes widened and his fists clenched together in anticipation.

"Yup, they finally CAVED! And guess what the best part is?" Ryou's voice went up at least two octaves.

"WHAT IS?!!!" Yugi demanded loudly, the building suspense killing him.

"I'm on a plane, like ten minutes from landing in the airport in your city!" Ryou exclaimed.

"OH MY GOD!! HELL YES!! FUCK YES!! I AM SO THERE RYOU," Yugi cried out happily, not believing his ears. He quickly got the flight number and said a hasty goodbye on the phone before hanging up, practically jumping like a jelly bean.

"Yugi, what just happened?" Joey asked, a little worried about his hyperactive friend.

"Yeah, what have you been smoking and where can I get some?" Tristan had both eyebrows raised.

Yugi ignored these questions and asked his own, "Guess what? Come on, I know you'll never guess this one," Yugi dared.

"Um, you decided that you found out that your life ambition was to be a cross dresser?" Atem took the gag, "And that call was from a store that said your favorite clothing was on sale?"

Everyone looked at him kind of funny, except Yugi, who was too deliriously happy to notice the comment. "What? With the way he's acting, I'm sure that it has to be something that out of the ordinary," Atem tried to reason his out burst's legitimacy. Duke was the one to roll his eyes and say, "And this, ladies and gentleman, is the world's sexist man gone loco,"

"As weird as that was, I think that Yugi has something a little more plausible to tell us," Tea looked back to Yugi, who was about to die from holding his secret in any longer.

"RYOU'S COMING BACK TO STAY!!!!" Yugi said in a booming voice.

"I take that back, Yugi coming out as a drag queen would be more believable." Tea rescinded with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?" Joey said, and Yugi nodded.

Tristan pumped his fist in the air, "HECK YES! When is he gonna be here?"

"In like half an hour," Yugi said excitedly.

"I guess our plans just went out the window," Joey smiled broadly.

"Yep, I'm getting the keys and picking his ass up right now," Yugi started to dance around the room, gathering what would be need to leave the house. "If you two want to, you can come with us, I don't think he'll believe me when I say we're going to be opening for you," Yugi said.

"Yeah, Ryou can finally play with us again!" Joey was trying to contain himself.

"He's part of your band?" Duke asked Tea.

She nodded. "He's the bass guitarist,"

"Alright, I'll call Marik and Bakura, they'll meet us there. I'm sure that they'll want to meet Ryou as well." Atem pulled out his dark red cell.

"I guess I'll call Malik, he'll want to see Ryou after so long too," Tea suggested.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

See you all again soon! Hope you enjoyed it!

Oh, and please, REVIEW!!! I feel so loved when you do….

Yami: You're easy to please… *snickers*

Author: You have no idea- HEY!

Yugi: That wasn't very funny Yami…*hides laugh*

Author: GRRRRRR….THAT'S IT! YOU TWO ARE GONNA REGRET THAT NEXT CHAPTER!!!!!

Yugi and Yami: *wide eyes* Uh-oh….

Author: You better be scared. I'm consulting Marik and Bakura on this one….*grins evilly*

Yami: We're screwed.

Yugi: *sweatdropps* Thoroughly.

Author: You just might be, Yugi.

Yugi: *shrinks back* Oh shit.

Yami: Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to be the one that really gets it?

Author: Whatever do you mean, Yami? *smiles sweetly*

Yami: Yup, I'm dead. I think I'll go write up my will now….*walks off*

Yugi: Wait for me!!

Author: Hmm. Should I tell them I was only joking? *ponders for a while* well, mostly, but…Nah! I'll let them sweat a little!

Byez, Everyone!


	6. Chapter 6: Good Times

Author: Okay people, this is your WARNING. This chapter will have some VERY adult themes and language, so if you don't think you can handle it, wait for my next chapter and I will recap this one in a short summary so you won't miss anything. There are no lemons here, but there are some implications.

And this chapter is a little silly, so you are forewarned. I don't want any complaints here people…I was just having a weird day when I wrote all this.

Yami: You have normal days?

Author: *Eyebrow twitches* You know I could very easily make this a Yugi/Tea fic…or even a Yugi/Pegasus fic….

Yami: NO! DO YOU WANT TO PERMENENTLY SCAR YOUR READERS??!

Author: Not really, but I will make it so if you don't stop with the insults soon.

Yugi: *Shudders* Yami, PLEASE be nice. Pegasus is a real pedophile…

Yami: FINE! *Pulls Yugi into his arms* No one touches him but ME. Got that? *Glares around the room*

Author: Well, you heard him.

Pegasus: Damn. *Goes off to find some poor unsuspecting victim to 'play' with.*

Author: *Clears throat* NOW, ON WITH THE STORY!!

Chapter Six: Good Times

All nine teenagers waited in the terminal at Renard Airport, tense and anticipatory of their awaited arrival. It was about five ten, judging from the watch on Marik's wrist. Yugi and his friends looked like they were about to explode with excitement at their friends imminent return, Yugi and Malik especially. The loud speaker had just announced that Ryou's plane was unloading and the passenger's released. Gate number 16 had people flooding from it, and Yugi was frantically searching at the edge of the crowd until he spotted the white mane of hair peaking somewhere in the middle. He eagerly grasped his friend's hand when Ryou came close enough, pulling him from the mass of bodies.

"YOU'RE HERE! FINALLY!" Yugi screamed out, holding Ryou in a crushing hug, which was returned whole-heartedly.

"Yep, I'M BACK!" Ryou was bombarded by another choking hold; Malik had joined in. The three friends of ten years squeezed the life out of each other, laughing all the way. When they released the white-haired teen, he was greeted by the rest of the group, his gaze only widening when he met another pair of brown eyes…that were not Joey's.

"Bakura…?" He questioned, his light voice somehow carrying over the groups' louder noise.

Bakura, who had not been paying much heed to the whole ordeal previously, was now entirely interested.

"BAKURA!" Ryou shouted, launching himself into the arms of the larger look a like, tears bursting from his eyes with a wide smile on his face.

Just as before, with the whole meeting between Tea and Mai, the rest of the group was forgotten. Of course, that was until Marik decided to glomp Malik suddenly, almost throwing both of them to the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Malik struggled to get free. Marik merely nuzzled the top of Malik's head, not giving any inclination at letting go. Malik was able to push him off, Marik pouting when he was denied a longer hug.

"But they were doing it…and Bakura liked it…" Marik whined.

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I WILL!" Malik's knuckles were white in his fist.

Yugi and the others had no choice but to laugh at the two who had just met a few moments ago. They were already turning out to be quite the source of entertainment, as long as Malik didn't plan on killing Marik. The two continued to bicker while Ryou explained his relationship with Bakura.

"We know each other from a summer seminar on music appreciation, you know, that one that you guys couldn't come to because of that summer flu going around?" Ryou reminded them.

Tea, Tristan, Yugi, and Joey grimaced in remembrance. "Don't remind us," Tea pleaded softly.

The rest of the group was introduced and Duke informed them that the next day they had to return to the recording studio in order to let the new addition to the band meet the managers and play a few more songs to show his talents as a bassist.

"That means I should probably practice a little tonight, I may be a bit rusty," Ryou grinned impishly. "But I do look forward to playing with you all tomorrow; we're finally back together again."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After settling Ryou's luggage into a vacant room in the upstairs of Yugi's home and calling the studio to inform them of the new bass player, the gang relaxed in the living room, wondering what to do next.

"I have a dare card game, if you guys think you can handle it," Ryou proposed, smiling impishly.

"It would be a good way to get to know each other better, now that the group is complete," Tea returned the smile, knowing that this was going to get...interesting....

Everyone was a little nervous, but they all (hesitantly) agreed to try it out. The way the game was played was that the one to dare the others would draw a card, and choose between the question and the dare on it.

"I'll go first," Yugi plucked a card from the pile, biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing as he read it.

"Ryou," he looked to the other with sparkly eyes, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Ryou gulped audibly, knowing from Yugi's grin that it was the _wrong _choice.

"Alright," Yugi said in a sing-song voice, handing the card over and whispering in Ryou's ear. As Ryou read the card he turned beet red. He sighed heavily, trying to calm himself.

"I'm gonna get you back," He muttered, growling when Yugi grinned wider. He moved to where Bakura sat, who was watching his intently at the moment. worry evident in his features.

Ryou looked him straight in the eye and said, "I have an oral fixation, baby, and it's your lips," before taking Bakura's face between his hands and giving him a smooch.

The room howled with laughter, some almost falling on the floor in surprise. Ryou pulled back as soon as their lips connected, redder than a cherry tomato, and rushed back to his seat on the other side of the coffee table. Bakura wasn't faring much better, especially with the lewd comments from his 'friend', Marik.

When the room had calmed down somewhat, Ryou grabbed another card. He was in the mood for vengeance, but it didn't necessarily have to be Yugi on the receiving end of his fury.

"Malik," He said, "Truth or dare?"

Malik sighed, "Dare..."

Ryou handed the card over, smirking when Malik paled. "You already know who I pick, so move it," Ryou said.

Malik pouted and groaned, sitting next to Marik, before wrapping his arms around him, unwillingly. Marik looked pretty happy.

"He has to stay there for the entire game?" Tristan asked, and Ryou nodded, happily placated.

The room hissed with quiet chuckles, only growing in sound when Malik glared their way, squirming under Marik's snuggling. He was able to pull away enough to get a card, hiding the contents from Marik, then smiling evilly. He turned to Tea, who shrunk a little under his gaze, not even daring to guess what was on the other side of the card.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was about half an hour later when it was Joey's turn to pick a card, but not before stealing a glance at Seto, who was currently steaming in anger. Oh yes, they had really done it now. Just imagine: Seto forced into a magenta tutu and feathery princess tiara. Beyond a Kodak moment (of which, the gang now had several pictures), it was priceless. Joey was glad he only had to prank call Kevin from school, pretending to be a stalker. Duke had had to pretend to be Marik's loyal dog for five minutes, which was highly entertaining. And now, whenever anyone called out Tea's name, she was forced to say....

"Hey Tea," Duke tested out her dare.

"You turn me on," Tea said looking to him, "What do you want?" She was blushing pretty hard.

"Nothing, but that will never get old," He smirked at her fuming blush, thanking Malik silently for making her take the dare.

Joey looked down at his card and beamed. He wanted to 'help' his friend get together with his favorite singer, and this was the perfect chance.

"Oh Yugi," He sang out sweetly.

"Yes Joseph?" Yugi answered playfully, enjoying this game immensely.

"Here's your next dare, and you have to do this with Yami," Joey handed the card over to his smaller friend, who raised an eyebrow at what he read. He smacked his forehead.

"Seven minutes of heaven? How old is this dare? I swear they invented it in the middle ages," Yugi was only slightly red.

"And it never ceases to entertain," Ryou was grinning widely, finally getting revenge for earlier. Yami's face was also a little red.

"Alright, down to the basement," Joey shoved the two down. As the teens marched down to do their 'duty' the others left in the room shared a look. Then they all scrambled, as silently as possible, to the basement door, unprepared for what was about to happen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once Yami and Yugi had reached the couch in the cool room; they sat and looked nervously at each other.

"So...." Yugi started, not really sure of what to say.

"Yeah..." Yami responded.

"You know, they're probably all listening at the door," Yugi whispered, giggling slightly.

"Yeah, knowing my friends, they will be right with them," Yami glared in the door's direction.

"How about we give them a little more than what they expect?" Yugi suggested, waggling his eyebrows jokingly.

"That sounds like a good plan..." Yami smirked, wondering if the ones upstairs would fall for it.

"Here's what we do..." Yugi explained his tactics, with Yami adding one or two ideas, both trying to stifle their laughter when they started.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The gang at the top of the stairs crowded together, trying to see if they could hear anything. After about two minutes of waiting, they heard something alright.

Someone moaned, rather loudly.

A few eyebrows rose, and everyone listened harder.

"Yami..." another moan.

They all looked to each other, a little startled.

"Mmm...Yugi..."

Everyone recognized the voices coming from below, but they could hardly believe their ears.

"AH!" The surprised gasp was more than a little erotic. "Not there!" Yugi's voice was heard.

Tea, Tristan, Joey, Malik, and Ryou shared a look of complete and utter horror. Bakura and Marik shared a look that said, 'Yami is going that fast, this soon?'

"Yami, you dog," Duke said under his breath. Seto raised an eyebrow in his direction, looking more than comical with the tiara on his head. Duke had to stifle his chuckle.

"Ahhann..." Another moan, deeper this time. "So you like to play rough, hmmm?" Yami's voice asked huskily.

"AHH-HANN!" Was the answering cry, "Yami..."

By this time, no one's face was its normal shade; all the listeners were getting nervous.

Joey was the first to snap out of it. "I think that this is going a little TOO far..." He said, moving quickly past the others to the door. Once his hand had grasped the brass handle, the door flew open, revealing two teens....

FULLY dressed and laughing their asses off at the sight of their friends shocked expressions.

"Damn...that was perfect..." Yami puffed out, unable to breathe properly at the moment.

"Has it been...seven minutes yet....you pervs....?" Yugi's laughter was getting louder, "Get your...minds out...of the gutter!"

Joey harrumphed. "Geez, don't you ever get tired of scaring us all shitless, Yug? I mean, we were just trying to make sure you were not getting molested by Yami..."

"Yeah, and if you guys weren't a bunch of closet yaoi fans looking to get off on peeping on your two friends, you wouldn't have had to 'save' me from the big bad sexy rocker," Yugi pointed out, in a light pouty voice. "Besides," He slipped his arms around Yami's neck, "Who says I don't want to be molested by my favorite music idol?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Yami looked pretty happy with the situation at the moment.

"So, since you were doing your practical joke, you have yet to complete your dare," Marik shook his head, "and although I think you guys could pass for professional porn stars, you cheated by not doing what the dare card said,"

"Mmmm...I guess you're right," Yugi turned his head to Yami, "Oh well," Then he leaned in and promptly kissed Yami, full on the lips. Yami was surprised at first, but he certainly didn't take long to recover.

When the two didn't part after the initial contact, the others at the top of the stairs could only gape. There was a full on make out session happening right before their eyes, and the two at the bottom of the steps weren't exactly shy about 'exploring' each other. Quite the exhibitionists, they would say.

"And Mokuba wonders why I don't let him play this game with us..." Seto shook his head in disbelief, closing the door and effectively ending the 'show'.

"Yeah, gotta wonder how much therapy he would need after them," Tristan snickered. "If your little brother only knew what went on at Yugi's house...I don't think he would be so keen on playing with us anymore,"

The rest of the group agreed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


	7. Chapter 7: On The Road

Author: Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a short chapter. I couldn't really get any good ideas in my head for this chapter, but I do know that the next two chapters will be a lot better!

Yami: And how do you know that?

Author: Cause that's when the story's ending.

Yami and Yugi: *Gasp*

Author: I KNOW! It'll be the first actual STORY I've finished on this site! *Does a happy dance*

Yami: *Sweatdrops* Didn't think you'd be THAT happy about it…I'll say it again: You have no life.

Author: *Stops dancing and eyebrow twitches* Do I need to put Yugi in the box again?

Yami: *eyes widen* NOT THE BOX!!!

Yugi: *rolls eyes* She just lets me go to my room Yami…

Yami: And then she locks the door! *Glares at Author*

Yugi: *Looks annoyed* Are you more upset 'cause you can't see me or because you can't do me you sex fiend!! *Pulls out pillow and chases Yami around*

Author: And they think I'm weird… *Shakes head and pulls out chocolate ice cream* YUM! ENJOY THE CHAPTER! R&R!!

Chapter 7: On the Road

"So, Ryou, your guitar is upstairs?" Yugi asked, not remembering seeing the teen carry it there earlier. Everyone else had left at about 8:30, two hours before, to get ready for the next day's events.

"Yeah, it's tuned and everything. I just hope that I'll be not too out of practice for tomorrow's showing," Ryou sighed.

"Don't worry about it, Ry. Even on your bad days you're still better than most professionals," Yugi soothed, taking another bite of the Chinese takeout in front of him.

"You think so?" He asked, not all that convinced.

"You betcha," Yugi gave an over exaggerated wink, "In fact, you can pick the song that we start with if you want,"

"Really?" Ryou's eyes widened. Usually, Yugi was the one who did that, having worked with the piece tirelessly before wanting to practice it with the group. When Yugi nodded, his mouth full of fried noodles, Ryou perked up and said, "Then I want to play 'Piece of Heaven',"

Yugi nearly chocked. His eyes bulged slightly and when he regained his breath he managed to say, "Mou, why does everyone love that song so much? I still can't believe I wrote it,"

"I think that is because it's so diverse and everyone gets to sing in it, and, to tell the truth Yugi," Ryou waited until Yugi looked to him, "Its gotta be the song you sing the best,"

Yugi raised his eyebrows at that comment.

"I know everyone would agree with me on that one; no one seen you sing that passionately or get so into a song before," Ryou added.

"It's probably because I need to get in the mood for that one. It's a freakin' dark as hell song," Yugi mulled over another bite.

Ryou set his finished carton aside on the coffee table. "Well, since none of us are going to school tomorrow due to the fact that we need to be at the studio, how about we watch a few scary movies to get you into said 'mood'?" Ryou made a face at the last word and Yugi threw a dark blue (ironically) throw pillow at him.

"AHH! Someone save me from the wrath of the evil cushy pillows!! They attack without mercy!" Ryou dodged a second attempt.

"I know who you want to save you from them," Yugi smirked as he got up to pick out a movie from the shelf.

Ryou nailed his ass with a pillow projectile of his own. "Shut up!" he growled.

"_Bakura and Ryou, sittin' in a tree, F-U-C--_" Yugi started to sing as he jumped to the side to avoid an empty soda can attack.

"YUGI!" Ryou wailed out pathetically, as Yugi could only laugh at his distress.

XXXXXXXXX

The practice had gone better than anyone had expected, so the company manager had said. Everything about the day had been perfect. No school, practice for hours, joking around with new friends, lunch at Marlo's, the restaurant across the street from the studio with the best pizza anywhere… With everything that had happened with his grandpa, it seemed like a dream; that Yugi would be able to live with Ryou, play with the best band in the country, making nice with the lead singer and the ending of his senior year at high school.

_Stop there._ Yugi thought. That was the only thing wrong with anything at the moment. He knew that not everyone would be staying with the band after high school. It was more than a little depressing. Ryou, Joey, and Seto would be staying, but Tristan was all set to go to University in Kansas, and Tea was going to Julliard in New York. Although he hadn't been sure about what he was going to do after high school, Yugi now knew that he would be a part of the RMAX studio as either a singer or song writer. It was certainly a dream come true, he knew that it was what he wanted to do with his life.

So it was with bittersweet thoughts that he bid goodnight to Ryou and slid into his double bed. Tomorrow he would sign himself out of school for Friday, Monday, and Tuesday to for the concert date. At ten o'clock, Yami and the others would pick Ryou and him up at his house and drive to the airport. He checked his clock, and saw it was 11:20. _Ten hours and forty minutes to liftoff. _Yugi smiled. He knew that his friends were counting down, much like the launch of a space shuttle, just like him.

It was scary with how well things were turning out for all of them, but Yugi hoped that with all the sad times in his past would only be building him to this point. This place where he was able to make decisions for himself, have these incredible friends and opportunities, and form a relationship with someone who understood his pain and loved to be with him. If there was a custom made Yugi-heaven, this sure as hell was it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Ryou, come down already!" Yugi called up the stairs. "They're waiting outside and the plane leaves in twenty minutes!"

"I said I was coming!" Ryou shouted back down.

"Yeah, ten minutes ago!"

"Stop rushing me," Ryou stomped down the stairs, "I don't work well under pressure," He pretended to whine dramatically.

"Sorry for disturbing your royal Queenlyness. I just figured that you actually wanted to play on stage tomorrow…but if you don't want to, by all means, take your time," Yugi smirked.

"Yeah, screw you too," Ryou glared before trekking his suitcase outside to the car.

Yugi's smile widened as he followed Ryou and hopped into the back seat with him. The car of choice this time was a silver jaguar with black and red leather. Bakura was driving, and Yugi was glad to see that the GPS was working. That didn't help his driving… 'style' all that much, though. The radio was turned up loud enough in the back to drown out Yami and Bakura's argument on that point. Ryou and Yugi shared a smile as they sang along to System of a Down.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

There wasn't much incident getting onto their first class plane ride. This was, of course, not counting Joey, Bakura, Yami, and Yugi's metal accessories. That had been a little more than embarrassing, but the sunglasses disguise had held and none of the guards were die hard rocker fans. At least the plane accommodations made up for it. No one from the small town of Milagro (with the exception of Seto) had ever been on a first class flight before.

Everyone was enjoying the private flight, but Yugi couldn't relax with thoughts of the concert looming over his head. He stayed quiet as his friends all joked and talked around him, trying to forget about it all by listening to them chatter.

"You're oddly silent," Yami commented, appearing by his side.

Yugi was surprised that he hadn't jumped out of his skin when Yami suddenly spoke.

"I know. Sorry for being such a spoil sport but…" Yugi didn't want to say what was bugging him, thinking that Yami might laugh at his nervousness.

"You're wondering if the concert is going to blow up in your face." Yami guessed accurately. Yugi sheepishly nodded.

"You shouldn't worry, they will go ballistic when you guys stop playing, and probably start begging for an encore." Yami encouraged him.

"It's just that…well, I wrote these songs, and my friends and I have slaved over our music for so long, I just hope that people love it as much as we love making it. Don't even get me started about how scared I am that my voice isn't going to cut it…" Yugi raked his hands through his hair in pent up anxiety.

Yami chuckled a little. "If they hate your voice, then they would have to hate mine. You only had to sing one song to catch the TOP music talent searchers to drool over you. You don't have to even think about that possibility."

"What if I screw up?" Yugi couldn't seem to calm himself down.

"You're over thinking this, Yugi. There are too many what ifs to worry about right now. Just be happy that you're here, that you have this chance." Yami placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder.

Yugi smiled at his gesture. He did feel a little better after Yami's support of him. "You're right. I'm glad that it you that I'm opening for and not just some other band."

Yami returned the smile.

Tristan and Ryou, who decided to put ice down the back Yugi's shirt, rudely interrupted their small moment of peace. Yami and the others could only laugh at the look on Yugi's face as the freezing cube slid down his back. It wasn't long before Yugi had them both dosed in soda spray and everyone was laughing. This was definitely one of those good and strangely slow-going times of life. But as slowly as everything seemed to pass for the group of rambunctious teens, the plane ride was over before anyone knew it.

There was a limo waiting for them once they got to the pick up area outside the airport. As crowed as the interior of the terminal had been, no one seemed to know that the large group was in any way related to the countrywide sensation known as _Pharaoh's Resurrection_.

_The managing company must be very prepared to have this news not leaked to the media, _Yugi thought as they rode to the five star hotel. The group shared three presidential sweets with three bedrooms each. Everyone was comfortable and very pleased to know that the mini fridge, room service, and Cable/Movie access was totally paid for. Yugi and his friends scrambled around like maniacs for the first few minutes, ecstatic that this was _actually happening_.

After they had calmed down some, everyone hung around the 50" Plasma and goofed off for about four hours until 11:30 when Mai threatened to tranquilizer and tie them all to their beds if they did no go to sleep right away.

"Seto, Marik, and Bakura might do the second part anyway," Yugi said under his breath, and Tea and Tristan laughed because they had heard it. He smiled sheepishly at all the weird looks it earned them and ran off before anyone could question him further. By 12:00, everyone was situated and resting peacefully, ready somehow to face whatever was thrown their way the next day.


	8. Chapter 8: The Concert and All the Rest

**Author:** Well, it's been a while now, hasn't it? *Laughs sheepishly* Sorry for taking soon long…

**Yami:** Are you apologizing because you are actually guilty or because some of the reviewers are currently holding at knife and gun point? *Smiles innocently*

**Author:** *Gulps as the weapons get closer* No, no, of course this is all completely sincere…*Glares at Yami* Well that and I was working on another Yugi/Yami story, called The Game No One Wants To Play Anymore, which I BEG YOU ALL TO READ, IF YOU ARE AT LEAST 14!!!

**Yami:** I would help you out, but this is just too good. *Tries to contain laughter and fails*

**Author: **Go screw yourself, cause Yugi certainly won't right now. *Smiles* Besides, I wrote a new chapter, so everybody can relax and enjoy.

**Yami: **What did you do to Yugi?!

**Author: **One-track mind much? *Shakes head* He's having a duel with Seto now.

**Yami: **That rich bastard better keep his hands off of him! *Runs off* YUGI! I'M COMING TO SAVE YOU!!!

**Author: ***Sweatdropps* Well…that was certainly…Over dramatic…*Clears throat* Anyway, have fun reading, and thanks so much for the reviews, you fantastic people! LOVE YOU AND LOVED READING 'EM!!

Chapter 8: The Concert and All the Rest

The next morning had certainly been a rush of unexpected trouble. First, the reports at the hotel were waiting when they left to go out to lunch and then the recording studio, (not really so unexpected as frustrating, though.) Then, the fashion designers could not decide on what they were all to wear, even though they had promised to be ready with the outfits before they arrived. "We were ready for them to try all our designs," they had huffed indignantly when scolded about it. After that fiasco, they all went to a photo shoot where the photographers _and_ models were unforgiving in asking for autographs and hundreds of different positions to capture. Finally, after nearly _six hours _of endless bombardment, they were at the concert hall, dressed, make-up finished (Joey, Tristan, and Seto were NOT happy about that…), and going through the last of the sound checks.

There was one hour left before the people would be let in, and half an hour after that until Yugi and the rest of the first-time band were to go on. While Seto and Tea were nonchalant about the whole thing, if the least bit excited, Yugi, Joey and Tristan were off their senses with how nervous they were.

"Okay, just calm down," Joey tried talking himself out of it, "Use that old trick; imagine the people in their underwear..."

"Joey, this is a rock concert. You have to be prepared to actually _see_ people in their underwear, and probably less," Yugi ground his teeth together, trying not to get too annoyed with Joey's constant ravings and Tristan's pacing.

"Shit!" Joey shook his head, trying unsuccessfully to get a very horrifying image of a naked crowd of not so…_nice_ looking people.

"And Tristan, seriously, I'm gonna throw you out into the crowd if you don't stop fidgeting," Yugi was rubbing his forehead at this point, a headache appearing at the most inopportune of moments.

"Sorry," the brunette muttered. He went to sit next to Tea, who comforted him immensely, considering her method was to take him into an empty room and kiss him senseless. Seto was the one to come over and pull Joey into his arms, who snuggled into them immediately. Yugi was able to get over his own nerves at the way those four handled their own. It wasn't long before one of the managers who had come with them from RMAX to the concert told they were on in ten minutes. Yugi, for the life of him, could not figure out the guy's name. He just nodded and stood, waiting for the others to join him. Malik and Ryou were in the room next to theirs, with the _Resurrection_ band members. They all met in the hallway and noticed something rather peculiar.

"Hey, do any of you know where Mai is? I thought she was supposed to introduce us tonight…" Tea looked to the others for an answer.

"We thought she was in your room," Marik said, looking behind him in the hall, "Come to think of it, where is Duke? He was with her when I saw her last."

"Oh," Yami started chuckling, and everyone turned to him, "I can't tell you where they are, but I can guess what they're doing," He laughed a little harder at their embarrassed expressions. Bakura, Malik, Ryou, Yugi, and Marik laughed along with him.

"Maybe we should start looking in the supply closets and dressing rooms," Bakura suggested.

"What? I don't see why they would want to be alone together right before the concert- OH!" Joey's eyes bugged out in understanding, "They're molesting each other or something, right?" He asked, quite proud of himself that he figured out the little mystery that wasn't quite so mysterious. Yugi and the others were trying their hardest not to die laugh from his oblivious moment. Seto took it all in stride and wrapped his arm around Joey and turned the blond toward the route to the stage. The rest were not surprised to see the slightest hint of a smile on his face, though.

A few minutes later, the gang found Mai and Duke in the dressing room near the side entrance to the stage, in the middle of playing tonsil hockey. They didn't seem too embarrassed by the situation, walking out and rolling their eyes at the wolf whistles and cat calls the others used to poke fun at them.

XXXXXXXXX

Mai stood in front of the massive crowd, alone on stage with a mike in her hand.

"Hey everyone! The show's about to begin…Are you ready for it?" She yelled into the mike. The resounding noise of incoherent cheers was her answer. Her dazzling smile was projected about 10 times her size on the screen behind her, for the people in the back seats.

"Great and I'm sure that you've all heard about the band that's going to start for Pharaoh's Resurrection…" She continued.

Yugi found it hard to steady his hands as he listened to Mai announce their band; her voice coming through the huge speakers sounded like a whisper compare to the pounding of his heart.

"And here they are: Devil's Rath!" she yelled out, and the crowd cheered.

_Th-Thump_. He held his breath to savor the gloriously apprehensive moment. _Th-Thump_.

_Grandpa…this is for you._

Their band walked out on stage and the wild crowd's cries came out louder. When he reached the mike, Yugi gave them a mischievous grin despite himself. He nodded to the rest of the band, who had readied their instruments in a flourish. Smiling, Tea began the sequence prepared on her synthesizer, and Joey started to sing:

_Forfeit the game before somebody else  
Takes you out of the frame  
And puts your name to shame  
Cover up your face you can't run the race  
The pace is too fast you just won't last_

And suddenly, Yugi's voice came clear and washed over them all:

_You love the way_

_I look at you  
While taking pleasure in the awful things you put me through  
You take away, if I give in  
My life, my pride is broken_

_You like to think you're never wrong_

_(_Joey: _You live what you've learned)  
You have to act like you're someone  
(You live what you've learned)  
You want someone to hurt like you  
(You live what you've learned)  
You want to share what you've been through  
(You live what you've learned)_

The energy of the audience and the power coming from the music was intoxicating, and Yugi found that he was too caught up in it to notice anything else, like how he suddenly wasn't nervous anymore or the way he was acting on stage. The crowd loved it, and he was living their reactions up. By the end of the song, Yugi was smiling so wide that he realized that Yami had been right.

They were screaming, demanding an encore. It was sad to disappoint their new fans, but they were only the introductory act. They were barely able to trot off stage with controlled coolness before they themselves exploded into cheers and felt absolutely drunk with happiness. Pharaoh's Resurrection celebrated with them in their blissful moment before it was time for them to go on stage.

The rest of the night went by in a shining, dreamily exciting blur while they all partied over the success and watched the managers pat themselves on the back. And Yugi, for the first time in months, did not feel any grief over the passing of his grandfather. He swore, though, that he could feel the jovial old man smiling down on him from the afterlife, congratulating him with the rest of his friends.

And the very first guitar that Yugi had ever played mysteriously strummed itself in the windless basement below the house.

…Six Months Later…

Their senior school year was at an end, they realized, as they sat in cap and gown at the graduation ceremony. They had already walked and received their diplomas, and now were eagerly listening to the student speaker. How Ryou became the Valedictorian in only seven months after attending their school, they would always wonder.

"Thank you and congrats on all the 2009 students." He finished, and they all cheered. A few wolf whistles made him blush as he stepped down.

"That was a beautiful speech, Mr. Bakura," The principle, Mr. Belone spoke into the mike. "Now, we have one more speaker left. Mr. Motou, will you please take the floor?"

Yugi stood from his seat in the second row and walked up to the podium with whoops following his path. On the projector above the stage, the picture changed to show a photo from the concert in New York, and everyone cheered as they recognized it. He smiled widely at them all, his eyes flickering to the familiar faces in the crowd.

"Well...we're here," A few of the students chuckled at his address; "I'm sure we all knew we would graduate, _right_?" they all laughed a little louder at that one.

"I was pleasantly surprised when the principle asked me to talk about my experience going to New York this year. I would never have thought that I would have been able to sing with my band in concert, but we did it. That had to be the best moment of my life." Yugi continued.

"Got that right," he heard Joey yell from the audience, and a then a loud bought of laughter followed.

"I was grateful for such an opportunity, and especially so because I got to share it with my best friends." He paused to let the cheers die down some. "I wanted to thank them and thank you all for making high school the best time of my life, and sticking with me when my grandfather passed on. I would like to dedicate my speech and success in singing and songwriting to him and my friends."

There were a few more loud cheers from the crowd. Yugi smiled, a little exasperated, "And that's about all I have to say..." Again, some broken laughter, "But I do have a surprise for all of you." The crowd shifted and murmured, wondering what Yugi could mean. They watched as he stepped back from the mike and all of the band members from Devil's Rath stood from their seats and joined him on stage. A little more confusion ensued when the large screen from the projector pulled itself up and the curtain drew back before revealing the two drum sets and instruments behind it.

The crowd went wild as Yugi and the others grabbed their guitars and set up. Yugi stood at the mike stand, grinning devilishly, "And we would also like to welcome to the stage, our newest friends from Pharaoh's Resurrection!" The cries from the crowd were deafening as they watched the other band members appear from backstage. A lot of the parents and even the teachers were cheering for the arrival.

They entered in a flourish, just as showy as the famous band had always done before, and picked up their own instruments waiting on the stage. Yami stood by Yugi in the front, and they smiled at each other slyly. Oh, if only the students knew what had happened before the show under the bleachers… (They were just making out, geez; don't get too over imaginative on me! LOL)

"Alright, I would like to dedicate this song to those band members who will be leaving us this summer to go off to college." The crowd let out a mournful sound and Yugi smiled softly himself. "Give them a fond farewell! This song is called Thanks for the Memories!" Yugi bellowed into the mike. Tea began the synthesizer.

_Yugi: I'm gonna make it bend and break_

_Yami: You sent it to me without wings_

_Say a prayer,_

_**Everyone: But let the good times roll, in case God doesn't show**_

_**Yugi and Yami: And I want these words to make things right,**_

_But it's the wrongs that make the words come to life,_

_**Who does he think he is?**_

_If that's the worse you've got, you better put your hands back to the keys,_

_**One night and one more time, thanks for the memories,**_

_**Even if they weren't so great**_

_**He tastes like you only sweeter,**_

_**One night yeah, one more time, thanks for the memories,**_

_**Thanks for the memories, **_

_**See he tastes like you only sweeter, oohhh…**_

_**I'm looking forward to the future,**_

_But my eyesight is going bad,_

_**And this crystal ball,**_

_**It's always cloudy except for, except for**_

_**When you look into the past, look into the past,**_

_**One night stand, One night stand,**_

_**One night and one more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Even though they weren't so great;  
"He tastes like you only sweeter"!  
One night, yeah, and one more time  
Thanks for the memories, thanks for the memories;  
"See, he tastes like you only sweeter"!  
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh**_

_They say I only think in the form of crunching numbers,_

_In hotel rooms collecting page six lovers,_

_Get me out of my mind; get you out of those clothes,_

_I'm a liner away, from getting you into the mooood,_

_WHOA!_

_**One night and one more time  
Thanks for the memories  
Even though they weren't so great;  
"He tastes like you only sweeter"!  
One night, yeah, and one more time  
Thanks for the memories, thanks for the memories;  
"See, he tastes like you only sweeter"!  
Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh**_

The guitarists strummed their last chord and it was lost amidst the cheers and flying caps as they Domino High Class of 2009 said their goodbye to high school forever.

And the two bands, even with the friends that were leaving, were the reveling in the best moments of their high school years. Riding on the highs of excitement and young love, they knew that they would always see each other again.

**The End** of Yugi's rise to fame and the Beginning of his adventure to learn how to play the Lead Singer's heart strings (his newest favorite instrument).

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed! Oh, and if you can't get enough of the angsty lusty duo, then READ MY OTHER FIC, The Game No One Wants to Play Anymore. But it is rated M, so be advised!

Love you all and thanks for sticking with me through this fic, it was about as fun to write as you guys found reading it, I'm sure.

Best Wishes with your own fan fictions and in finding other stories,

IcyBlue.


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